Napoleon never expected that his words would turn those broken tanks into a nightmare for French soldiers.

Since His Majesty the Emperor believes that those tanks are very valuable, the new French Army Lieutenant General Leclerc will naturally want to satisfy His Majesty the Emperor.

The problem is that the French army only has a limited number of about a dozen tractors. They were smuggled over from the Ming Dynasty through connections with Portugal.

But these dozen tractors were the mainstay of the French army's logistical supplies. Napoleon gritted his teeth, but only two were transferred.

It’s really funny that from the moment the tractor enters the battlefield, the destroyed tank will not move.

After several rounds of calibration, the Ming army's howitzers were able to strike accurately.

One kilometer away, several Ming army observation posts were lurking there.

A field telephone line was pulled behind them.

"It's so damn cold, I feel like I'm going to freeze." Hugjiril was lying in the crater, with his hands in his crotch, and he was jumping up and down.

"Damn it, don't jump around. The French will see you later and I will shoot you." Bayan kicked Hugjirel in an angry manner.

In Tsaritsyn late at night on the twelfth night, the temperature had dropped to minus 23 degrees. For the Tsaritsyn area, this was already a mild winter.

But for Bayan and the others, this is simply hell.

He was wrapped in thick canvas clothes, which were said to be stuffed with goose down. This clothes was as warm as an old sheepskin jacket, but it was much lighter than that.

The thick canvas is very wear-resistant, and the elbows and hems are specially patched in places that are prone to wear and tear.

But even so, Bayan and the others still felt cold.

"Pa!" Another illumination bomb exploded in the sky, and a small parachute slowly landed. The bright light from the illumination torch illuminated the ground in white.

The interval between flares is every four minutes, which basically guarantees that one will fall and the other will take off.

"Company Commander, there's something going on." Hugjiril put down the telescope and whispered to Bayan below.

"What's wrong?" Bayan asked softly.

"It seems like someone is tying a wire rope to the tank!" Hugjiril handed the binoculars to Bayan who climbed up.

Bayan took the telescope, and sure enough, there were several dark figures crawling under the illumination of the flares.

They climbed very patiently and were covered with snow-white sheets.

But they were so close together that the dark steel cable trailing behind them seemed too conspicuous.

A total of twenty-three tanks were destroyed, and they were numbered from south to north.

Bayan glanced at the numbered chart, picked up the phone and said softly: "Target No. 23, five consecutive rounds of rapid fire!"

After hanging up the phone, Bayan squatted on the ground with his head in his hands and his mouth wide open.

Within two minutes, the sharp whistle of artillery shells was heard.

One shell after another exploded around the No. 23 tank at the far end.

The thick smoke quickly engulfed the French soldiers.

A 120mm howitzer with five rounds of rapid fire. It is estimated that even if these guys left something behind, it would still be in a state of parts.

The distance was very close, and the shock wave of the shell explosion made Bayan feel like he was a small sampan in the wind and waves.

Sure enough, after the Ming army's artillery attack.

The French also started retaliatory shelling, but they were shelling aimlessly.

The artillery shells were falling here and there, and it was impossible to tell where the Ming army's observation post was.

After finally surviving the shelling from both sides, Bayan let out a heavy breath of white air. Now he didn't even dare to cough. After all, this place was only a kilometer or two away from the tanks.

If he is discovered, he will be the one taken care of by the howitzer.

Today the French sent more than a dozen waves, but all of them were blown up by the Ming army's artillery shells.

There were craters everywhere around the broken tanks.

Several bombed tanks were hit by Ming army shells and returned to the state of parts.

At first, Bayan thought why not just blow up all those tanks.

But now I have figured it out, these tanks are the attractors of the French army.

Behind them, there was an artillery battalion ready to kill any French troops who dared to steal the tanks.

At the end of the day, at least one hundred and eighty French soldiers were killed.

Moreover, Bayan also knew that as long as these tanks existed, the French soldiers would rush over and die one after another.

Sometimes the battlefield is such a cruel place. Even though you know you are going to die, and you have already died a lot, you still have to be ordered to die.

For those high officials, the life of a soldier is actually just a tool to realize their will.

Sometimes Bayan also thinks about why he is fighting.

Why do you want to stay in this freezing cold place?

At a certain moment, he even thought about running away and returning to the prairie.

Get some sheep to raise, and capture two wild horses to tame them.

Riding a horse to herd sheep every day, it was quite good to live a peaceful life. In the end, he was carried by his son in a cart and sent to Changshengtian.

In any case, it is much better than many of his brothers, who were blown to pieces by artillery shells and lying in this foreign land.

This idea was completely discarded when I had a chat with Hugjiril.

Hugjirel said that life is much better now.

He had no shoes at all when he was a child, and in winter he walked with his feet wrapped in a piece of old sheepskin.

The cold wind on the grassland caused small cracks on his feet.

He said the pain was excruciating and he would never forget it in his life.

All hardships are insignificant compared to that kind of pain.

If he had a son, he would never let his son suffer like this.

He would let his son live a good life in a warm big house, eat mutton on hand, and drink steaming fresh milk.

When I go out to herd sheep, I can wear the same big-toed shoes as now. I also wear a thick cotton hat on my head.

Anyway, it’s good to have the outfit you have now.

Bayan felt relieved for a moment. The hardship he was enduring now was not for others, but for his own descendants to no longer suffer.

You can have enough food and clothing, and you don't have to be whipped by the leader, nor do you have to go out to herd sheep with a piece of sheepskin wrapped around your feet like Hugjiril did when he was a child.

The battalion commander said that he is now an officer. After returning to Ming Dynasty, he will be placed according to the standards of the Ming army.

Finally, I will go to the Western Regions, take charge of a farm, and become the local emperor there.

Western Region!

When I came here, I took a train and passed by there. There were sandy areas everywhere. There wasn’t much grassland, and Bayan didn’t like it very much.

However, the farms are still very good, and they are usually located very close to water sources. The water plants are also abundant, and the Han people who live there have planted large areas of cotton fields.

It is said that transporting this thing to the customs can make a lot of money.

The money in exchange not only buys food, but also brings a lot of wealth.

While I was thinking about it, several people rolled into the crater.

He reached out to grab the Aka rifle and was about to fire it, but his hand was held down.

"It's me!"

"Batalion Commander?" Bayan could tell that it was the voice of Battalion Commander Li Yuan.

"The cavalry of the first division will come to change the defense in a moment, and we can withdraw." Li Yuan's voice had a cheerful tone.

The troops have been here for four days, and now they are finally ready to withdraw to rest.

The whole battalion survived, and only 30% of them survived, including minor injuries. If they didn't withdraw, they would be wiped out!

"real?"

"The order has just been issued, the defense change will begin at 3:30 in the morning. The scouts from the 1st Cavalry Division will come to replace you!"

"You can just call me, why bother making a trip."

"When you call, the phone rings, haha! You ascend to heaven, your mind is confused." Li Yuan slapped Bayan in angrily.

"Finally we have to withdraw, haha!" Bayan was already stunned by the feeling of happiness, and could only grin in amusement.

The Hugjirel next to him looks just like him.

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Li Lin sat on the airship and reluctantly stayed away from Moscow.

This trip to the battlefield is far from a real battlefield.

Since the Prussian army occupied Smolensk, it has been stationary on the west bank of the Dnieper River.
To be continued...